The Senate swore-in Sen. Benjamin Uwajumogu representing Imo North Senatorial District. The brief ceremony was conducted by Senate President, Ahmad Lawan at the plenary on Friday. Uwajumogu was finally presented with a Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja on Thursday, after weeks of legal tussles.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, had on July 5, declared the non-issuance of the Certificate of Return by INEC to Uwajumogu as illegal. The legal tussle which resulted in the delay to swear-in the senator began on July 9, when INEC declared a rerun in his election.
The Senator had approached the court seeking an order to compel INEC to issue him the certificate after the failure of the electoral body to declare him the winner of the senatorial election on an allegation that the electoral process was marred by irregularities. INEC stressed the need to ensure fairness by investigating the alleged irregularities in the election before issuing the certificate.
Addressing journalists shortly after his swearing-in, Uwajumogu alleged that he was unjustly denied membership of the Senate by INEC, three weeks after securing a favorable judgment in court. He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and the All Progressives Party (APC) for their support.
Uwajumogu commended the judiciary for standing by the truth. He also commended INEC for obeying the court order, which directed that he should be issued the certificate of return. The senator pledged to rededicate himself to serving the people of Imo North better than he did in eighth Senate. He commended the people of his district for not taking laws into their hands during his trying times.
Uwajumogu, who came to the Senate on June 2015, is a two-time lawmaker and the longest-serving member from the South East on the platform of APC.
